Tuan Ngoc Bui

Read about research being undertaken by Tuan Ngoc Bui, a PhD student in Applied Linguistics

Thesis title

The incidental acquisition of grammatical features during reading: A comparative study on pedagogical approaches to reading

Supervisors

Prof. John Macalister and Dr Stephen Skalicky

Abstract

Ever since the publication of Elley and Mangubhai’s book ﬂood study (1981, 1983), much has been said and written about extensive reading (ER) and its benefits in enhancing learners’ reading abilities, vocabulary knowledge and their overall English proﬁciency. Strong research-based evidence has demonstrated that ER is an effective approach to increasing learners’ exposure to meaningful input and facilitating new learning. Nevertheless, although there are now hundreds of pieces of research in ER, grammar gains through ER have been largely overlooked. As Nation and Waring (2020) argued, we have only scratched the surface of what we need to know to optimize ER instruction and practice. Among those, it is the relationship between grammar and ER which is noticeably underexplored.

Given the significant role of grammar in second language learning, the current study is designed with two phases, in which phase one aims to explore via eye-tracking the extent to which grammatical features affect reading comprehension, and the relationship if any between learners’ L1 background, language proﬁciency and their comprehension of texts. In phase two, the study investigates the impacts of different pedagogical approaches to reading on the incidental acquisition, if any, of new grammatical features. This study is considered timely as it would add more empirical evidence to the steadily growing research on ER and extend understanding of the relationship between grammar learning and reading.

Biography

Tuan Bui is currently a PhD candidate at the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, where he also earned his MA degree in TESOL. His interests cover the fields of second language acquisition, task-based language learning, and computer-assisted language learning.

Publications

Bui, T., & Macalister, J. (2021). Online extensive reading in an EFL context: Investigating reading fluency and perceptions. Reading in a Foreign Language, 33(1), 1-29. http://hdl.handle.net/10125/67391

Bui, T. (2020). Revisiting the impact of 4/3/2 and 3/3/3 tasks on learners’ speaking performance and development: A learner’s perspective. The Journal of AsiaTEFL, 17(4), 1515–1523. https://doi.org/10.18823/asiatefl.2020.17.4.28.1515

Presentations

Bui, T., & Macalister, J. (2022). The impacts of extensive reading online on the development of learners’ reading fluency and perceptions in an EFL context. ALANZ-ALAA-ALTAANZ Conference, Wellington, New Zealand.

Scholarships and Research Grants

Wellington Doctoral Scholarship. Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. (2022).
MA TESOL Scholarship. SEAMEO-RELC, Singapore. (2018).